The taxable payroll index adjusts for the effects of changes in the number of workers and changes in the proportion of earnings that are taxable, as well as for the effects of price inflation and real-wage growth. The OASDI taxable payroll consists of all earnings subject to OASDI taxation, with an adjustment for the lower effective tax rate on multiple-employer excess wages. A series of values, divided by the taxable payroll, indicates the percentage of payroll that each value represents, and thus the extent to which the series of values increases or decreases as a percent of payroll over time.

Table VI.F7 shows the operations of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds in CPI-indexed 2013 dollars—that is, adjusted by the CPI indexing series as discussed above. The following items are presented in the table: (1) non-interest income; (2) interest income; (3) total income; (4) total cost; and (5) asset reserves at the end of the year. Non-interest income consists of payroll tax contributions, income from taxation of benefits, and reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury, if any. Cost consists of scheduled benefits, administrative expenses, financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement program, and payments for vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries. Table VI.F7 shows trust fund operations under the low-cost, intermediate, and high-cost sets of assumptions.

Figure VI.F1 compares annual cost with annual total income and annual non-interest income. The figure shows only the OASDI program under intermediate assumptions, and presents values in CPI-indexed 2013 dollars, consistent with table VI.F7. The difference between the income values for each year is equal to the trust fund interest earnings. The figure illustrates that, under intermediate assumptions: (1) annual cost exceeds non-interest income in each year of the projection period; (2) total annual income, which includes interest earnings on trust fund asset reserves, is sufficient to cover annual cost for years 2013 through 2020; and (3) total annual income is not sufficient to cover annual cost for years beginning in 2021. From 2021 through 2032 (the year preceding the year of trust fund reserve depletion), annual cost is covered by drawing down combined trust fund reserves.

Table VI.F8 shows the operations of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds in current dollars —that is, in dollars unadjusted for price inflation. The following items are presented in the table: (1) non-interest income; (2) interest income; (3) total income; (4) total cost; and (5) asset reserves at the end of the year. The Trustees present these estimates, using the low-cost, intermediate, and high-cost sets of demographic and economic assumptions, to facilitate independent analysis.

Table VI.F9 shows, in current dollars, the annual non-interest income and cost of the combined OASI and DI Trust Funds, of the HI Trust Fund, and of the combined OASI, DI, and HI Trust Funds, based on the low-cost, intermediate, and high-cost sets of assumptions. For OASDI, non-interest income consists of payroll tax contributions, proceeds from taxation of OASDI benefits, and reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury, if any. Cost consists of scheduled benefits, administrative expenses, financial interchange with the Railroad Retirement program, and payments for vocational rehabilitation services for disabled beneficiaries. For HI, non-interest income consists of payroll tax contributions (including contributions from railroad employment), up to an additional 0.9 percent tax on earned income for relatively high earners, proceeds from the taxation of OASDI benefits, and reimbursements from the General Fund of the Treasury, if any. Total cost consists of outlays (scheduled benefits and administrative expenses) for insured beneficiaries. The Trustees show income and cost estimates on a cash basis for the OASDI program and on an incurred basis for the HI program. Table VI.F9 also shows the balance, which equals the difference between non-interest income and cost.